Pens for livestock and fence for use in same



May 1s, 1955 vv. J. o'coNNoR 2,745,638

PENS F'OR LIVESTOCK AND FENCE FOR USE IN SAME Filed OCT.. 22, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 15, 1956 w. J. o'coNNoR PENS FOR LIVESTOCK AND FENCE FOR USE IN SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed OCT.. 22, 1953 ""lllli ATTURNEYS.

PENS FOR LIVESTOCK AND FENCE FR USE DI SAME William J. OConnor, Chicago, lll., assigner to Union Stock Yards & Transit Company, Chicago, lli., a corporation of Illinois Application October 22, 1953, Serial No. 387,675

Claims. (Cl. 296-19) This invention relates to the construction of a fence and to elements for use in the manufacture of same, and it relates more particularly to the combination of elements for use in the rapid and eicient assembly of a fence constructed of rigid and relatively heavy materials such as concrete and the like to resist deterioration and destruction as under the conditions normally existing when used to form pens for livestock and the like.

in the construction of fences for use in the building of pens for livestock and the like, it is desirable to make use of elements such as concrete which are resistant to deterioration and attack under the conditions existing in the stock yards; which are incombustible; which are incapable of splintering in a manner to harm livestock milling about the pen; which are not digestible, and which embody suicient strength to resist the forces and impacts to which the elements are subjected in normal use.

The construction of a fence of the type described of concrete presents a number of diiiiculties from the standpoint of manufacture and from the standpoint of flexibility or movability. A concrete fence cannot, in a practical manner, be constructed by pouring concrete into forms in position of use to produce a solid unitary structure and a poured concrete structure of the type described would be immovable and substantially incapable of repair.

It is an object of this invention to produce and to provide elements for producing a concrete fence of the type described which is formed of relatively few simple parts capable of easy and quick assembly into positions of use to form a fence, which are freely interchangeable and easily removable for repair or replacement; which can be disassembled and used in the reconstruction of another fence in another location; which produce a fence that is sturdy in construction and simple in operation; which permit sufficient flexibility with respect to size and shape to enable the fence to be conformed to the space requirements or in the space available and in which the elements may be prefabricated for manufacture at minimum cost and in an etlicient manner, and which are of a size convenient for efficient handling without special equipment or tools in the assembly thereof to construct the fence.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of a fence construction embodying features of this invention in use to define cattle pens;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional View taken along the lin-e 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a top View of a corner post used in a turn at an obtuse angle;

Figure 4 is a top view of an intermediate post;

Figure 5 is a top view of a corner post and which further illustrates the construction for use of the corner post with a closing gate;

Figure 6 is a top view of a center four-way post;

2,745,638 Patented May 15, 1956 Figure 7 is a top view of a one-way post illustrated further as mounting a swinging gate;

Figure 8 is a top View of a three-way post used in the construction of the fence for cattle pens, and

Figure 9 is a top view on a reduced scale of a fragmentary portion of the fence assembly, illustrating the arrangement of parts.

Figure 10 is a top view on a reduced scale of a fragmentary portion of the fence assembly, illustrating another arrangement of parts.

Each post is cast or otherwise molded of concrete or the like with a rectangular groove extending lengthwise through an intermediate portion of the connecting side walls, defined as side walls from which cross members are adapted to extend horizontally to adjacent posts in the fence construction. Each groove extends lengthwise from the top of the post downwardly and terminates uniformly at a distance from the opposite end corresponding to the length of the post portion adapted to be embedded below the surface of the earth plus the distance of the lower cross member from the surface. In general, the posts are somewhat similar in construction except for the arrangement of the slots which depend from the location of the posts in the fence assembly.

The center post iii, illustrated in Figure 6, which is arranged in the interior portion of the fence assembly and which has cross members extending crosswise and lengthwise therefrom in each direction is formed with longitudinally extending grooves il, l2, 13 and l-r in each of the four connecting side walls l5, in, i7 and 1S, respectively.

Center posts i9 arranged in the outside run of the fence intermediate the ends to connect interior runs are formed with grooves 20 and 2l in opposite side walls 22 and 23, respectively and with a groove 24 in the wall 25 facing inwardly towards the center, as illustrated in Figures l, 2 and 8.

Corner posts 26 which connect fence runs extending at an angle less than 99 from each other are formed with side walls 27 and 23 facing perpendicular to the runs of the fence and with grooves 29 and 3d extending longitudinally through the side walls as described, for receiving the ends of the cross members in the assembled relation.

Corner posts 3i which connect runs extending substantially at from each other are formed with grooves 32 and 33 in adjacent side walls 34 and 3S, respectively.

intermediate posts 35 which are used to interconnect cross members in a straight run of the fence are formed with grooves 37 and 38 in opposite side walls 39 and respectively.

To mount a swinging gate or to provide the ange against which the swinging gate is adapted to be engaged when in closed position, it is suficient to make use of a one-way post 41;, illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawing, with the groove 42 in the side wall 43 from which the run extends while the hine 4d for the gate 45 is formed in one of the corners of another side wall portion. lnstead, the hinge or the abutment d6 for engagement with the fence may be formed in a corner post as illustrated in Figure 5 with the abutment 4o or the hinge extending from one of the side walls not having a groove therein for receiving cross members in assembly. The abutment is formed preferably to extend from Vthe inner portion of the side wall to provide a receiving slot into which the end of the gate is adapted to seat when closed.

The cross members also formed of concrete, preferably with steel reinforcement extending endwise therethrough, are rectangular in cross section and dimensioned lengthwise to be greater than the distance between the connecting walls of adjacent posts but to be slightly less than the distance between the connecting walls plus the depths of the grooves so as to enable the cross members to be slid downwardly through the grooves for assembly and disassembly with su'icient of the cross member contained withing the groove to establish a desired mounted relation when in position of use.

The cross members are formed with variation in the end construction depending upon the location of the cross members in the assembled relation. Other than in the lowermost cross member 47, the upper cross members 48, 49 and 50 are formed with arms 51 depending integrally from the outer edge portions of the cross members. Each arm is uniformly dimensioned to correspond to the vertical spaced relation between the cross members when in position of use. By the use of uniformly dimensioned arms depending from the ends of the cross members, it has been found possible to eliminate the use of brackets for supporting the ends of the members in position of use within the grooves, thereby greatly to strengthen the structure and to increase the flexibility thereof both in assembly and disassembly.

In the assembled relation, the end portions of the lowermost cross members are adapted to seat into the bottom of the grooves. The arms depending from upper cross members rest upon the upper surface of the end portion of the lower cross members, most, if not all, of which are disposed within the groove so that an interdependent relationship is established which assists in maintaining a desired assembled relation. It will also be evident that a more substantial portion of each of the cross members is constantly being engaged within the grooves of the posts to enhance the rigidity of the structure and the ability of the cross members to resist impact and inadvertent displacement.

The cross members 50a forming the top of the fence in the cross runs between alternate pens are preferably formed with anges 52 extending laterally from the upper edge portion to provide a walkway 53 at the top of the pens along which herders may walk in greater safety and security between the pens.

The method of assembly is obvious and therefore requires little by way of description. Sutiice it to say that the posts 10, 17, 25, 31, 36, 41 and the like are anchored in the desired spaced relation in the surface of the earth. When the posts have all been placed and anchored so that the bottoms of the grooves are at substantially the same level, the cross members 47 forming the bottom strands are raised to bring the ends in registry with the grooves in facing connecting walls so that the cross member may be lowered into the groove and the ends permitted to slide downwardly within the groove until they come to rest in the lower end thereof. The next cross member 4S is similarly raised to align the arms 51 with the upper ends of the grooves and then the member may be lowered with the arms sliding downwardly through the grooves until the lower edge comes to rest upon the top wall of the underlying member. The assembly may be carried out in the manner described in the various sections of the fence separately or simultaneously or one section may be completed before another is started.

It will be apparent that a fence of the type described enables greater versatility in construction and assembly so as to enable the fence to be assembled and disassembled in a simple and eicient manner. It is also apparent that greater exibility is possible with respect to the contour and dimension of the enclosure within the fence so as to enable the fence to be adapted to the space available without detracting from its simplicity in construction and operation and it will be further evident that all of the elements used in the construction of a fence of the type described may be prefabricated to a size which permits easy handling for use in the construction of a fence for one or a plurality of cattle pens or other enclosures at minimum cost and with the minimum expenditure of time and labor.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and operation without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims. l

l. In a fence for defining a group of separate livestock pens, a plurality of spaced concrete posts including end posts, corner posts and center posts having their lower end portions embedded within the ground, a plurality of vertically spaced apart concrete cross members interconnecting one post with another, each post being formed with a groove extending from the top downwardly through an intermediate portion of the side walls interconnected by the cross members to a level croresponding to the distance of the lower cross member from the ground, in position of use, and in which the grooves in one wall remain independent of the grooves extending inwardly from other walls of the posts, the connecting cross members being dimensioned to have a length greater than the distance between the interconnected side walls of the posts but slightly less than said distance plus the depth of the grooves, an arm depending integrally from the ends of the upper cross members and dimensioned to correspond in length to the vertically spaced relation between the cross members and dimensioned to have a width corresponding to the depth of the grooves, said arms being disposed substantially completely within the grooves, when in the assembled relation, and resting upon the upper surface of the underlying cross member, and flanges extending laterally from the upper edge portion of the uppermost cross members which extend crosswise of the livestock pens to form crosswise walkways between the pen sections.

2. A fence as claimed in claim 1 in which the intermediate posts are formed with a pair of grooves in opposite side walls for engagement with separate but aligned cross members.

3. A fence as claimed in claim 1 in which the corner posts between pens are formed with grooves in opposite side walls and in the inner wall therebetween and in which the cross members extend outwardly separately in opposite directions from the side wall grooves and other cross members extend inwardly substantially perpendicularly from the groove in the inner Wall.

4. A fence as claimed in claim 1 in which the center posts between the pens are formed of rectangular crosssection and are formed with grooves in each of the four walls and in which the cross members extend outwardly independently from the grooves perpendicularly from the adjacent walls of the post.

5. A fence as claimed in claim l in which reinforcing metal members are arranged to extend from sections of the post adjacent the grooves through the center thereof to the opposite corner section of the post.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Jones Aug. 5, 1924 

